After securing a team win and the second state tournament appearance in school history a week prior, the Becker Bulldog wrestling team wrestled last weekend at Monticello in the Section 6AA individual wrestling tournament.  Wrestlers needed to place in the top two in their respective weight bracket in order to qualify for the state tournament, and four Bulldog wrestlers did just that and won the chance to pursue a state championship at the Xcel Energy Center on March 4 and 5.

Sporting the Bulldog singlet at the state tournament will be Kaden Nicolas, Landen Kujawa, Mason Doucette and Bryce Kuschel.

“I thought our guys competed well this weekend,” Coach Travis Holt said. “Making it to the state tournament out of section 6AA is no easy task.”

Nicolas finished second in the 113 point bracket, losing a close championship match to Big Lake’s Cash Sixberry on a 6-3 decision.  

Kujawa was the champion at 120 pounds, as the freshman improved to 35-4 on the season with a 4-1 decision win over Annandale-Maple Lake junior Noah Grindele.

Doucette also claimed the title, his at 152 pounds as he took a major decision, 16-7, in his final match.

Kuschel also punched his ticket to state with a second place finish after losing in the finals, 7-1, to Foley’s Elijah Novak in the 285 pound class.

All four of the Bulldogs will start individual play on Friday in the state tournament. 

There was also a host of Bulldogs who just missed out on a state berth by losing in the true second matches and settling for a third place finish.  True second matches are required when the second and third place finishers did not meet earlier in the tournament, therefore they wrestle for the chance to compete at state.

Ethan Anderson wrestled well at 138 pounds before dropping the match to Zach Pribyl of Annandale in a 6-3 decision.

Adam Jurek also finished in third place, falling 4-2 to Jude Link of D-C Litch at 160 pounds.

Bulldog Tyson Ricker made it all the way to the finals at 170, where he lost a heartbreaker, 8-6, before falling in the true second match 4-3 in a very close decision to Monti’s Alex Fearing.

At 195 pounds, Becker’s Dylan Weber finished third after losing in the true second match, 6-3, while teammate Dylan Kolby was third at 220 pounds after his loss in the true second match.

Other place finishers for the Bulldogs included: Bennett Kujawa (fourth at 103), Drew May (fifth at 126), Nolan Muellner (seventh at 132), Ethan Duncombe (fifth at 145), and Ryan Nelson (seventh at 182).

During the tournament, Becker amassed 182 team points to finish in first place overall ahead of the second place Big Lake Hornets and their 160 points.  

Looking ahead to the state tournament, Holt and his staff will be busy shepherding the team to its Wednesday tournament, followed by two days of individuals chasing their titles.

“This week will be a great experience for our team and we feel confident that our four qualifiers will be able to compete at a high level and stay focused during both tournaments,” said the coach.

Look for complete details of the Bulldog team and individual pursuits of a state title in next week’s Patriot.